5101:12-1-20
Confidentiality of information.

(A)
This rule and its supplemental rules describe the
requirements for authorized access to, use, disclosure, and safeguarding of
information contained in a person's case record.

(B)
A reference
guide for this rule and its supplemental rules are contained in the JFS 01709,
"Confidentiality of Information Reference Guide" (11/2011).

(C)
The following
terms and definitions apply to this rule and its supplemental rules:

(1)
"Agent of a
court" means a person authorized to act for and under the direction of a court
with the authority to issue an order for the support and maintenance of child,
or to serve as the initiating court in an action to seek a child support
order.

(2)
"Alleged father" means a man who is believed to be or
believes himself to be the natural father (also known as putative
father).

(3)
"Attorney of a child" means a licensed lawyer who has
entered into an attorney-client relationship with either the child or the
child's resident parent to provide legal representation to the child or
resident parent related to the establishment of paternity, or the
establishment, modification, or enforcement of child support. An
attorney-client relationship imposes an ethical and fiduciary duty upon the
attorney to represent the client's best interests under applicable rules of
professional responsibility.

(4)
"Case record"
has the same meaning as in rule
5101:12-10-05 of the
Administrative Code.

(5)
"Case participant" means any person who is identified
by a participant number in the support enforcement tracking system
(SETS).

(6)
"Confidential information" means any personal
information, as defined in this rule, relating to a specified person or a
person who can be identified by reference to one or more factors specific to
him or her, including but not limited to the person's social security number,
residential and mailing addresses, employment information, and financial
information.

(7)
"Custodial parent" means a parent of a minor child who
lives in the same household as the child.

(8)
"Federal parent
locator service (federal PLS)" means the parent locator service established and
operated by the federal office of child support enforcement.

(9)
"Independent
verification" or "independently verified" means the process of acquiring and
confirming confidential information through the use of a second source.

(10)
"IV-D case" has the same meaning as in rule
5101:12-1-10 of the
Administrative Code.

(11)
"Non-custodial parent (NCP)" means a parent of a minor
child who does not live in the same household as the child.

(12)
"Non-IV-D case"
has the same meaning as in rule
5101:12-1-10 of the
Administrative Code

(13)
"Person" refers to an applicant or recipient of IV-D
services or an individual or entity who is a case participant in a IV-D or
non-IV-D case.

(14)
"Personal information" means any information that
describes anything about a person, or indicates action done by or to a person,
or indicates that a person possesses certain personal characteristics, and that
contains, and can be retrieved from a system by a name, identifying number,
symbol, or other identifier assigned to a person.

(15)
"Representative
of a child" means a custodial parent, legal guardian, attorney of a child,
guardian ad litem, or a caretaker relative having custody of, or responsibility
for the child.

(16)
"Requestor" means any individual or entity who has
requested information.

(17)
"State parent locator service (state PLS)" means the
parent locator service established and operated by the office of child support
(OCS) within the Ohio department of job and family services (ODJFS).

(18)
"Support enforcement program services" has the same meaning as in rule
5101:12-1-10 of the
Administrative Code.

(D)
Use of the term
"information" throughout this rule and its supplemental rules refers to
confidential and personal information as defined in this rule, unless indicated
otherwise.

(E)
A request for information from a case participant may
be made in person with proper identification. The child support enforcement
agency (CSEA) at its discretion may require that the case participant complete
the JFS 04001 "Request for Case Information" (11/2011) to affirm that the
information being released is utilized for a valid purpose in accordance with
this rule and its supplemental rules.

(F)
A request for
information from an individual or entity other than the case participant shall
be made in writing via the JFS 04001. A public children services agency (PCSA)
requests for location shall be made using the JFS 07713, "Child Welfare Agency
Locate-Only Request" (5/2008).

(G)
The following
individuals or entities have the responsibility to maintain the confidentiality
of and to safeguard all information contained in a person's case record,
whether the information is contained on paper, film, computer, or any other
electronic medium:

(1)
Any individual with authorized access to the
information contained in SETS or any other information contained in a person's
case record, including a requestor who has been provided information in
accordance with this chapter;

(2)
A court or agent
of a court who has the authority to issue an order against an NCP for the
support and maintenance of child, or to serve as the initiating court in an
action to seek a child support order; or

(H)
No individual or
entity described in paragraph (G) of this rule shall disclose any information
concerning a person except for an authorized purpose in accordance with this
rule and its supplemental rules.

(J)
In accordance with section
3125.99 of the Revised Code,
anyone who discloses information to any person or for any purpose not
specifically permitted by this rule or its supplemental rules is subject to a
fine of up to five hundred dollars or a prison term of up to six months or
both.

(K)
A CSEA, OCS, or contractor may disclose information
about a person subject to the provisions and limitations described in this rule
and its supplemental rules in the following manner:

(1)
Disclosure of
information that the CSEA, OCS, or contractor obtains from the state or federal
parent locator service (PLS).

The CSEA, OCS, or contractor may use
and disclose the following information about a non-custodial parent, alleged
father, custodial parent, or child when the CSEA, OCS, or contractor obtains
the information from the state or federal PLS in order to perform the functions
necessary to carry out the child support program:

(j)
Type,
status, location, and amount of assets or debts owed by or to the person.

(2)
The CSEA, OCS, or contractor may disclose any
information obtained from a source other than the state or federal PLS in order
to perform the functions necessary to carry out the child support
program.